As Netflix unveiled its Q4 2023 results, attention was directed towards Australia, recognised as a key market and as the testing ground for advertising strategies and ad measurement practices, particularly for the US and UK.  

The remarkable revenue growth and strategic evolution in programmatic buying during Q4, with a YoY growth of over 12 per cent and nearly 70 per cent growth in Netflix's global ad-tier membership compared to the prior quarter, marked a significant milestone for the streaming giant. While specific numbers were not disclosed, Netflix noted having over 23 million active monthly users on ad plans worldwide, underscoring the success of its ad-supported tier.  

Simultaneously, Amazon Prime Video's ad-supported service launched its counter-offensive on 29 January and has been forecasted to pull in an estimated $1 billion in its first year of operation (according to MoffettNathanson Research). This projection, together with Netflix’s outstanding Q4 numbers, and YouTube’s existing streaming dominance, underscore the evolving fragmentation in the landscape of streaming and digital video platforms, shaping the advertising landscape not only globally but also within the Australian market. 

Within the complex landscape of cross-platform measurement, Netflix's potential programmatic pivot seamlessly aligns with the Australian industry's call for unified solutions. “Operating in individual siloes is not what the market is asking for. What we – and what our clients want – is consolidated solutions,” says Adam Russell, Group Director for Kmart at Universal McCann (UM). 

In this transformative period, the key players will be solutions that offer precise single-source measurement alternatives, capable of rigorously assessing cross-media content autonomously, even within walled gardens. Advertisers and agencies in Australia are placing a growing emphasis on efficiency and effectiveness, and CTV (BVOD + AVOD) and OLV apps’ strategic evolution and eruption, indicate their willingness to accommodate advertisers’ preferences in the local market. 

Live events play a central role in shaping global and Australian television and advertising dynamics for 2024, including Out-of-Home (OOH) advertising. Marketers are actively preparing to address the challenges of measuring cross-media ads during these events, emphasizing the sustained significance of Linear TV broadcasters in captivating Australian audiences and advertisers.  

Despite the persistence of traditional TV struggles in Australia, live events serve as a beacon of hope for above-the-line video publishers, showcasing the enduring appeal of linear TV and providing unique engagement opportunities for advertisers. This transcends the simplistic dichotomy of audience demographics, with the global 2024 lineup of major events like the Super Bowl, EuroCup, Olympics, and the recently concluded Australian Open underlining the pivotal role of traditional TV in the advertising ecosystem, ensuring advertisers' ads are prominently featured alongside premium content, amplifying their reach and impact, for at least another year. 

Looking ahead to 2025, the Western (US, UK, EU, and AU) media landscapes evolve further as CTV platforms gear up for major live and sporting partnerships. Netflix has exclusive rights to WWE's Raw, Amazon Prime is venturing into the NBA in Mexico, Peacock is collaborating with the NFL for the Wild Card Game, while the Australian Open streams on ESPN, and the Australian F1 Grand Prix is broadcast on Fox Sports.  

This raises intriguing questions about measuring advertising effectiveness during such events, especially considering Foxtel's recent launch of its own ad currency service, seen by some as, not least rival broadcasters, as a move to grade its own homework. Amidst these developments, Charlie Allatt, digital strategy director at Kinesso, emphasizes the ongoing challenge: “We have the ability to measure TV, we have the ability to measure in digital in pretty reasonable capacities. The question has always been we don't know what the effect of people in between looks like. Right now, that has never been more of an issue.”  

As linear TV may diminish its offering of top-tier live events starting in 2025, and with digital video being mainly measured through DSPs, the validity of siloed approaches to measurement across screens becomes questionable, highlighting the necessity for unified cross-screen measurement solutions that can bypass walled gardens, and that can operate at a person level from a single source. 

“If measurement keeps becoming more and more fragmented, then players like Beatgrid, who pull it all holistically together and work with everyone, are going to win,” says UM’s Adam Russell. As are the brands and buyers using single-source platform data to get a better read on how their ads are performing across channels.  

Beatgrid’s automatic content recognition uses a phone-based panel to measure TV, digital video, audio, and even out-of-home audiences, as well as in-store footfall. It also takes the guesswork out of brand uplift studies. Globally the firm’s tech is being used by the likes of Amazon, Google, Unilever, and Virgin. Locally, Kmart is using it to deliver cross-media measurement across linear TV, BVOD and YouTube. 

Analysis of 500-plus Beatgrid global case studies shows there are major gains to be made for those that know where shifting audiences can be found – and how to maximise efficiency and effectiveness across channels for both performance and brand objectives. 

"Campaigns that blended TV and CTV (BVOD + AVOD), with the addition of YouTube, achieved a 60 per cent incremental reach in the online video platform," notes Cameron Curtis, AU GM at Beatgrid. "This not only effectively captured younger audiences, but also led to a 62 per cent increase in brand lift. As we saw with YouTube, OOH significantly amplifies campaign reach, particularly among Millennials and Gen Zs, while also generating a positive brand lift. This is a trend that's more pronounced in Australia than in other markets like the United States or Europe." 

Per Curtis: “Marketers want to know what is the incremental value in terms of generating brand lift, and reach by adding a channel? For example, will adding CTV or YouTube to the mix drive incremental effectiveness?” 

As marketers face mounting pressure to prove ROI, there's a growing demand for tangible, deduplicated metrics such as incremental reach, frequency across channels, and brand lift.  

Beatgrid Co-Founder, Daniel Tjondronegoro, thinks incoming signal loss and regulatory overhauls will only increase that pressure. 

"We're facing a perfect storm, beginning with the rise of global privacy regulations, driven by a growing privacy-conscious and transparency-seeking consumer base. This is compounded by the imminent demise of cookies by the end of the year, and culminating in the shift in content consumption patterns, leading to cross-screen media fragmentation; essentially highlighting the essential need for solutions like Beatgrid's, with a single-source, person-level mobile panel methodology, guiding light in navigating this complex storm.” 

This future-proof approach, not only serves as a compass for steering the present but also as a beacon guiding marketers into the future, where CTV and OLV apps may ascend as the go-to media for day-to-day content streaming as well as live event broadcasts. By adopting forward-thinking measurement strategies, brand marketers will be positioning themselves to thrive in an environment where adaptability and innovation will be key.